TANZANIA is all set to become a hub of advanced cardiovascular treatment in East Africa and Sub- Saharan Africa. This has been possible with the expansion of the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) at Mloganzila, which is intended to be a centre of excellence in the region.

The current facility at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) will be upgraded in services to treat patients from neighboring countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, and the Comoros.

The new facility at Mloganzila will be inclusive of a special wing for children, which will be having a capacity between 280 and 350 beds. Presently, 128 beds are there at the current JKCI building, within the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH).

Prof Mohamed Janabi, The Executive Director of JKCI, said that this facility has attended 227,738 patients so far since its inception.

Among those patients, 1,025 underwent major and minor heart surgeries at the institute. By attending 1,025 heart surgeries, Tanzania has become the second country in Sub-Saharan Africa after Namibia, apart from South Africa, to conduct such big number of operations.

Prof Janabi said this at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of China-Tanzania Cooperation held at the Embassy of China in Dar es Salaam. Here the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga was the chief guest.

“All the drawings and proposal of the new hospital have been completed and submitted to the government of China. We are highly positive that they (Chinese) will support us in this project just as they did for the current facility,” Prof Janabi stated.

Dr. Mahiga informed the audience a request has been made by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa to the President of China, Mr Xi Jinping for supporting the expansion of JKCI during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which was held in September, this year.

“Apart from the extension of the cardiac institute, we also requested our Chinese friends to enable us to improve our capability in manufacturing of medicines, medical equipment and training of personnel,” Dr Mahiga, who accompanied the PM at FOCAC, stated.

Ms Wang Ke, while speaking earlier, the Ambassador of China to Tanzania, disclosed that over 2,000 medical practitioners have been called from China, particularly in Shandong Province, to hospitals in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

Apart from this, during the commemoration, many officials from the two countries also launched a programme called “Chinese Doctors’ Medical Visits Benefiting Tanzania,” in which medical teams will be called twice every year to offer free medical services in rural areas.

The Chinese government has provided 16.6bn/- for JKCI, while the government of Tanzania provided funds amounting to 10bn/-

Earlier to this, Dr. Mahiga appreciated China for the support in eliminating the three enemies mentioned by the late Father of the Nation Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, namely poverty, diseases and illiteracy.

“Tanzania and China have had uninterrupted friendship all along. China has been granting us multi-faceted assistance to fight the three enemies,” the seasoned diplomat stated.

The Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, mentioned the fact that JKCI had made important contribution by reducing referrals of heart patients by 85%.